Zunil

Zunil

Zunil is named after an extinct volcano. It is a town of approximately 10,000 K'iche' inhabitants in the highlands of Guatemala near Quetzaltenango. Maya traditions have deep roots in this community. The powerful Samalá river provides water, and the town is surrounded by volcanoes, fertile soil, and thermal springs. The people of Zunil grow corn, beans, and garden vegetables for export. A strong textile cooperative founded in 1970, Cooperativa Santa Ana, has more than 500 women members. Handmade artisan textiles are woven in the backstrap loom, an ancestral Maya technology that has remained unchanged for thousands of years. Along with weaving, another important activity of the community is to celebrate key dates in the Chol Q'ij Maya Calendar. Every 260 days, the community's Ajq'ijab' hold the Wajxaqib' B'atz' ceremony to mark the beginning of a new cycle in the Chol Q'ij. During this ceremony, community members of Zunil give thanks for the blessings of the completed calendar cycle. They petition for rain, good crops, as well as for the well-being of their families, their community, and the world.

The Zunil Volcano.

Isabel Hawkins

Families from Zunil have bathed in local thermal waters for health reasons since people can remember.

Isabel Hawkins

A bird's-eye view of Zunil.

Isabel Hawkins

Women washing their huipiles on the banks of the Samalá river, where thermal waters well up.

Isabel Hawkins

Purple is the traditional color of the huipiles from Zunil. More contemporary designs include the 20 days of the sacred Maya calendar, as seen here around the neck and on the back.

Isabel Hawkins

The Komon Tohil group of Ajq'ijab' conducts the Wajxaqib' B'atz' ceremony.